If you didn't know what was at stake, Mark Davis just helped you understand.

Jack Del Rio didn't make it out of the stadium in Carson before he was relieved of his duties. Del Rio announced it himself not even 20 minutes after the Raiders lost the season finale, 30-10, to the Chargers on Sunday. Davis wasn't messing around.

This is bigger than football. The entire business is in jeopardy. And while it was just, in all honesty, one bad year for Del Rio, the Raiders simply cannot afford another one. Even more important, they can't go into the offseason spiraling back towards irrelevance. They can't give fans a reason to resume the apathy that led to blackouts.

The Raiders need two things now more than ever: momentum and money. The former is their best hope of bringing in the latter.

They need Jon Gruden now more than ever.

Mark Davis in essence bet the farm on the Raiders being back, and their return to relevance has...

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